Never Say Die
by Porahgon-X
Summary: All information in prologue...this will be an action-centered fic that also happens to have to shippings... Shippings to remain DISCLOSED...all I can guarantee is that they are all boy-girl, NOT limited to the ones below(that and it is not Erika x Gold). SpecialShipping StrangeEeveeShipping MangaQuestShipping AccidentalShipping Erika x Red Yellow x Red Gold x Crystal Gold x Whitney
1. Prologue

Prologue

The Pokemon World is certainly an incredible one.

Professor Oak has done a marvelous job with his research, starting with the humble beginnings of Pallet Town. Along his way he has met some incredible people whom he has entrusted with the power of the Pokedex.

These people all have different goals and ambitions in mind. Each one set out on their journey for one specific cause, and ended up at some point saving the world in some way, shape, and form.

However with the passing of the Hoenn Region and the starting of the Seventh Chapter, Pokemon Adventures has done something I find incredibly unintelligent. The developers have, for the most part, barring the slight, but only very slight, exception of the HeartGold and SoulSilver arc, ditched some incredible characters.

Of course we all find some sort of bond with Diamond, Pearl, Platina and the gang. But realistically, we greatly miss the characters of Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, Bill, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. We miss the crazy, real connection the characters have with the gym leaders, and the Gym Leaders themselves.

Of course it is a GOOD thing to bring about new people, new plots, new etc. But I have found such acidic and intensely indescribable nostalgia in the original plots. Granted Volume 1 may not be all too interesting, Vol. 2 and on were incredibly addictive to read. I can't stand being seemingly finished with characters like Green and Yellow who may very well not get a share of the spotlight for many years to come; even way past the Tenth Chapter, almost 10 years since we last came to adore them. The battles and intensity of the world has loosened, and the materials that made Pokemon Adventures so unique and relatable to teenagers is losing its grasp. Granted, it still maintains a good portion of it, but we're not seeing Nosepass being cracked and Arboks being sliced any more.

So I have taken the liberty of writing their story after the Sixth Chapter. The story I am about to tell occurs immediately after the event with Jirachi and the Battle Frontier.

We will follow the upcoming journey of four characters, an adventure to the likes they have never seen before.

However I have no power over Celebi or time itself. I may come to a slightly different time, a slightly different future than the writers of Pokemon Adventures. Any conflictions between my story and theirs are not out of incorrectness, but rather out of misfortunate illcircumstance.

So come! Let us embark on an adventure, following the travels of four special people, three of which we have come to greatly know and love.

One of which, though, we do not know enough of.

Their next journey will be one of character, of heart, of strength. There is a threat to the Pokemon World that is incredibly dangerous and secretive. Old enemies become friends as old friends lose their identity. Reality starts spinning around in crazy non-conforming elipses.

So let us start with one very special girl, one who is already struggling with an intense battle of her own. We shall find her in her usual location around 4 o'clock on a Monday afternoon…


	2. 1-01 - Master of Indifference

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**_Part 1 - Inspiration_**

**__****_... ... ... ... _****_... ... ... ... _****_... ... ... ... _****_... ... ... ... _**

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Chapter 1  
The Master of Indifference

*~*~**~*~**~*~*  
Erika - Celadon City  
*~*~**~*~**~*~*

_FffftwiTTT._

"Nine out of ten…" a soft voice murmured.

The owner of the voice reached down and lightly picked the last arrow out of a quaint and simple quiver. She softly lowered the tip onto her bow, raised the bow up onto her shoulders, slipped her remaining fingers around the taught string, and then pulled back on it ever so gracefully. She looked downrange, measuring the distance and concentrating on the wind, taking an aim she has aimed for over 4 years, an aim she learned after an encounter with one specific young man.

_PhfffffFFFFEEEEEWWWwwwwEEEEW WWWwwwWWW, _the wind whistled

…

_Just a little…_

…

_PHfffeeeww_

…

_phfeeEEW-_

_-NOW!_ Her eyes sharply widened as her fingers released the string, forcing the arrow to lunge the 100 meters towards its target.

_FffftwiTTT. _Another bullseye.

"Ten…out of ten."

The young lady gingerly placed down her bow on its rack and slowly glided over to a nearby chalkboard. On it, there were ten columns; each labeled a number zero through ten, ordered numerically.

The only column with any marks under it was the one labeled "10." On it, the archer scraped on yet another hashmark, the way she had marked consistently since Kanto's run-in with Team Rocket at Silph Co.

"Today…I total 612," she mused out loud.

"M'lady Erika, a perfect shot as always!" cheered a voice behind her.

Erika didn't even bother to glance over her shoulder. She had a general idea who the voice had come from. It was another one of the townsfolk of Celadon, her most obedient helpers and followers.

Yet Erika hated seeing them in this light—she never enforced anyone to do anything. They simply helped because they wanted to. With the exception of the one time that stubborn challenger had come by and demanded an apology, Erika never made the community actually _do_ anything.

…

That challenger…ended up becoming one of the most important people to Erika, not just because of his inner compassion, his skills as a trainer, the numerous times he's saved the world (or at least a region of it)…no there was something totally different that makes him important to her.

…

It is simply part of the culture of Celadon City. Erika's family is the richest in the city – one of the richest in Kanto on that note – and had been for quite some time. The reason is very vague, but Erika did know a little about her ancestry. Something about one of her elders making a good financial move that scored her family an incredible amount of wealth and riches, or at least as far as she knows. The archer is also aware that her feminine ancestors abused their power over the citizens, and enforced them to work for them. Once Erika learned about this, especially when she learned about it firsthand, she promised herself to never do the same.

Never again would she let that one thing happen to anyone…to anyone…

Yet when it's for Erika, the Celadon people really enjoy working. And since they enjoy it, Erika did not really do much about it. She simply asked, and they responded. Cheerfully, and willingly.

As for the current voice, someone was always watching her when she was at the archery range. Watching, and admiring.

Erika kept her back turned, feigning happiness in the compliment.

"Thank you very much, I appreciate it truly," she uttered with a warm voice.

Erika's voice is one that just melts your ears. It has the warmth and comfort of a hearth amalgamated with all the intelligence and intuition of a professor. Her resonance alone tells people that they want to be _her_ friend. She has the voice that causes numerous people to fall for her even before they've seen her.

And then when they see her, they faint on the spot.

Erika got up and walked over to the changing room. She gingerly grasped the knob and turned it, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her without peering back through it.

_Forgive me, Celadon…_ Erika thought to herself, …_I truly am grateful for your kindness. There is something else that is greatly bothering me, which I cannot stop from overcoming me._

The locker room of the archery range is a microcosm of Celadon itself. A locker room is something that is not supposed to be beautiful. It is supposed to be purely functional, tainted by sweat and grime, spoiled by industry and urbanization. Celadon has a gym, and a game corner, and a department store, and a park, and a university (combined with a research center), and an archery range (connected to a larger recreation area), and multiple hotels, and a Pokemon Center, and a PokeMart. It has the most trafficked gate to Saffron, and is also connected to the infamous Bicycle Path. It, by definition, should be a bustling city overcome by smog and urban waste.

Erika's first project she conducted when she earned independence was to beautify a Celadon that once resembled this urban wasteland. She put many resources and a lot of effort into opening up space, installing natural features, expanding the park. The city was completely remodeled and freshened up. Erika herself was the leader of the excursion, partaking in the renovations with her own two hands and intelligence.

It turned out gorgeous. Every breath smelt of crisp, clean air; every sight shone of an unorthodox blending of beautiful nature and urban luxury.

Just like Celadon, the locker rooms are beautiful when they rightfully shouldn't be: painted with lustrous colors and maintained like a queen's royal badminton changing room.

The Celadon pride slid across the woman's room and found her personal locker (which the citizens donated to her…she never actually asked for one). She opened the door to find her garb to wear for the rest of the day. Inside the locker lay a note, one she made herself many years ago:

"You, Erika, are tough. You, Erika, are strong. You, Erika, can do whatever you want…

…but YOU, Erika, are kind and indifferent."

Erika stared at it for a second. She brushed the back of her hand against the scratchy parchment, trying to let its promise sink into her veins.

…_Those words used to encourage me…why don't they anymore?_

Erika sighed and moved on to start changing.

Erika has an appearance that can only be described as lovely. Her head flowers with deep, dark violet hair, sliced short at her shoulders but neatly brushed and cured into slick, straight lines. Every last bristle sparkles with health and beauty. A simple salmon headband holds her hair in place, as her bangs extend out from her head like a ridge before curling back in. The back of her hair flowed down like a waterfall all the way around her head, even covering up her ears. Her hair accents her eyes whose sparkling, cool royal purple shade suggests a kind and intelligent individual. The irises combine with the whites of her eye in a way that one can only sit and admire the soothing effect they cast. The most amazing part about Erika is that when she changes moods, her expression changes, but her entire presence and being always emanates beauty. Her face can, and does dazzle you with its pure elegance. It is a beauty that is not forced, but is simply natural. It is elegant.

It is just lovely.

Erika always dresses in modest and beautiful clothing, frequently in either kimonos or outfits similar to kimonos. She understands that kimonos are just traditional. Her family has been wearing them for centuries, even though it was outdated over 1000 years ago. Not that Erika minded—she actually loves the kimonos. They typically are fashioned out of silk, handcrafted with elegance. They are soft yet mobile, modest yet beautiful.

Although Erika's favorite outfit, and the one she wears most frequently, is typical: some sort of simple, modest, and smooth top, with a simple, modest, and smooth full-body skirt that starts at about the end of the ribcage and ends all the way at her feet. It describes who she is in a simple "fashion" statement.

It is just lovely.

The specific outfit she wears for archery is one built for athleticism. The top is a slightly faded lavender top that looks similar to a robe. The sleeves cut off before the elbows, allowing the user free movement of the upper body. It fit on Erika tight enough so that it extenuated her actual beauty, but loose enough so that it described a modest and mature girl. A deep purple strand of cloth stretches across Erika's chest and illuminates her face. As usual, the bottom portion of the dress is a full-body skirt. This one is a deep purple, accordion-like fashion that flowed with Erika's actions, but did so quickly to allow for quick and rapid changes of movement and reactions.

Her skin, by the way, is a distinctly beautiful vanilla cream. It does not just look soft, it looks perfect. Pristine. Elegant. It radiated an indescribable amount of beauty. Her body itself is beautiful, yet not suggestive. Light would shine on it and shower the room with absolute and jaw-dropping loveliness. It gave off the impression that if Erika stood in a dark room, her skin alone would shed enough light to let her see her way through.

It is just lovely.

Everything about Erika suggests a princess, but she acts just as every other gym leader does: a protector. She will literally put her life on the line to lead and protect the people of Celadon.

She has already proven that, thrice over the last three and a half years.

Erika herself is someone the world needs more of. She has all the power and beauty a girl her age could want, but instead of fashioning a world loyal to her, she fashioners herself to be loyal to her world. At the very least, she is the wealthiest person in Celadon, the most incredibly beautiful person in Celadon, the most amazingly gifted person in Celadon. Yet Erika is a tender and kind teenager, loyal to her city. Her mature yet caring nature is unprecedented for someone her age. The maiden rallies her troops of Celadon together for a necessary deed, and afterwards tends to the wounded with her own caring hands. She treats all Pokemon with the same high level of profound respect and compassion.

At one moment a profound leader, the next a mature yet cheerful girl. It is how she ended up meeting someone special in her life.

Someone who gave Erika her highest highs…and is keeping her at her lowest low.

Hundreds of boys have their hearts set out for her, yet Erika is no coquette. She is incredibly kind to everyone, even those who have hurt her in some way. Her actual heart and love is something unknown, as she cares for everyone with an undying and gracious love.

Needless to say, Erika is quite the catch.

But nowadays she is overcome with an emotional blow and a personal sadness. One she has already dealt with in the past, yet at a lesser extent. It was still hurtful, just not quite at this caliber.

Archery is something she does to hone her skills as a trainer. The way Yellow masters the fishing rod, and Gold masters the cue, Erika masters archery. It is her unique skill in battle. She typically enjoys it as well, but recently it is becoming more and more of an unfortunate necessity than a desired good.

Erika walked out of the changing room in her standard clothing: a pure white, long sleeve dress that extends down to the floor. Her sleeves are slightly baggy, about the extent of a perfectly sized sweater; however they cuff together tightly at her wrists. Under her collar is a purple handkerchief, which flows out at the front of her neck. Below her waist is a smooth, off-white full body skirt that flows around fluidly as she moved and twisted.

On normal occasions, Erika would step out into the open Celadon atmosphere and breathe its beautiful air while smiling a sweet and slightly girlish smile, acknowledging her wonderful life. Especially on today, where she gives her once-a-week lecture at Celadon University.

While she was striding over to the exit, she glanced over at a special arrow hanging on the wall, surrounded by a Plexiglas casing, resting on a red velvet backdrop. It was covered in gold completely, except for the very tip, where a ruby arrowhead lay.

"…"

Erika sighed at the sight of it.

As she stepped out into the sun and started walking the path to the University, her hands folded in front of her, she could only look down.

The loyal citizens have been noticing her change in attitude since a month ago when she arrived back from a weeklong excursion to Cerulean City that was mysteriously cut off earlier than planned. They were confused as to what could have happened to Lady Erika. As she was walking down the sidewalk, they just whispered to each other and stared after the uncharacteristically melancholy teenager.

"It's seriously worrying me!"

"What's happened to our lady, Erika?"

"Was she beaten badly in battle?"

"No, Erika loves battles and doesn't mind losing, although it never happens."

"The last time she looked like this was when Red disappeared…"

Erika cringed at the name and held her hand up, stopping immediately in her tracks.

She politely requested, "Kindly please, would you leave me some time to my thoughts?"

The people sweatdropped and nodded, knowing the true meaning of "time to my thoughts."

So they let Erika continue the rest of the journey alone.

* * *

"Apparently under further discovery it is apparent that the previously known elemental punches, "Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, and Ice Punch," are not the only elemental punches. Research at this very facility is being conducted regarding…"

BBBRRRRINGG! BRRINGGGG!

"…ah well we'll continue this discussion next week!"

Erika placed down her teaching stick and waited until a few moments after the last student shuffled out the door before following in suit. As she was walking down the hallway, the head professor's voice rang out behind her:

"Lady Erika!"

Surprised, the elegant girl turned her head to face the professor.

"Erika! The department still has not failed to see the rapid increase in popularity of your class! The offer for an extended position still stands…"

Erika smiled, responding, "I am still truly flattered professor. But with the new rules the Director has set in place, my gymleading duties are more necessary than ever."

Sweatdropping, the little man sighed, "Yeah I suppose that is still misfortunate for us. Err…I really don't mean to intrude, but you've been looking rather pale recently…"

Erika's face darkened. Using an incredible amount of willpower to keep smiling, she responded again, "A good friend of mine…feels more lost than ever to me right now."

And with that she parted from him and walked home, feeling not just alone, but straight lonely.

She stepped into her house. Closed the door. Sat down at her computer.

But unlike last time this similar thing happened, she didn't rush to Misty's contact number. She just stared at it. And somewhere inside of her, she knew her friend had unintentionally stolen her heart.

* * *

Erika loves teaching flower arrangements. It is a wonderful thing in her eyes, allowing nature's beauty to flourish.

Naturally, considering she is a Grass-type master.

It is sort of funny. Most everyone who is significant in Kanto is a prodigy in their own right. Erika, she knows all that she does. Brock, he trains people in how to make so-called "tanks" of Pokemon (or those which are strong in both offense and defense), and also is the commander of expeditions to Mt. Moon. Blue, whom everyone looks up to as a master trainer of Pokemon and slobbers over every last piece of advice he gives. Janine, who is an incredibly gifted ninja, following her father's suit, and also helps with testing safety systems. Sabrina, who, although had false motives in her earlier years, is a master Psychic, better than most everyone in the world. Misty gives swimming lessons and advanced water technique practice in Cerulean's national beach. And everyone knew about the incredible feats of Red, Yellow, and Green.

All while they are still young.

Red, Green, and Blue are all 16. Misty and Brock are 15 ½. Janine and Sabrina are 17 and 18, respectively. Yellow is 14. Erika herself is only 16.

Most of them have been doing their respective duties for well over a couple years to boot.

But even through teaching the arrangements, all the wonderful students she teaches and all their flowerbeds she helps them usher into the world, all the different types and colors and annularity the flowerbeds have, she has a favorite.

Her own flowerbed.

She manages it daily, caring for the flowers and tending to their needs, as she is now; on her hands and knees with one hand wielding a trowel and her other out on the dirt to support her. She has a watering pail to her right, and a nutrient-enhancing solution to her left.

But she refuses to let herself get too attached to the garden, and restrains herself from personal bias in gardening. Indifference, she called it. Erika is always in favor of letting nature tell her what to do.

And it typically works really well.

The caretaker's garden is beautiful and bursting with life. Walking into it is walking into a sea of nature, lilies and lotuses, cacti and roses, exotic life and pretty life, each individual petal and leaf sparkles with vivid health and brims with unconditional love.

Erika's theory works well. So well that she has never questioned it until now.

Her duties for today were done. She has perfectly watered the plants that needed it; spread the solution in places where nature would spread it. As per usual, she treated each plant equally.

Indifference.

Erika never planted seeds, the plants would spread on their own. They would scatter and battle for control of the ground, the way nature would have it. Her garden has no order to it other than the fact that plants thrived in it. Oddly enough plants didn't die in Erika's care. She has always had some sort of magic about her that plants did not die under her care.

Indifference.

Erika stood up, picked up the watering pail and solution, and carefully started sidestepping her way to the entrance. When she was halfway there, she brushed against a giant leaf, scattering dirt around her. She stopped and looked up at the beautiful moonlit sky. She stopped herself to take a moment and stare at it.

She closed her eyes and thought back over her battle with Pryce, a battle she tirelessly watches day after day to figure out what she did wrong in it. She can't figure out why, she just knows she has an urge to figure out her lapse in the battle. It is as if some part of her knows how incredibly crucial this battle was, and that she needs to learn from it. She can't figure out what or why, the feeling just gnaws at Erika.

Indifference.

She has won every serious battle she has been in while using this theory, with the exception of Pryce's infamous battle.

_My most important battle of my life, I lost while using indifference. I probably could have ended his campaign early if I had just won…_

Her battle was executed so pristinely, so accurately. She never let up once, never showed a sign of weakness. She stood, unwavering, in the face of a battle she was predesigned to lose. She did all a skilled battler is supposed to do when confronting a powerful trainer with a significant type advantage.

_But I still lost…_

…

_I didn't just lose, I got clobbered by and embarrassed by my own strategy._

…

_And now I am losing another battle, the real battle of my life._

…

_The battle for my heart._

She started to choke up on her own emotions.

_And now…now…_

Her eyes started watering.

_Now I don't know if my life is real._

She started sniffling and she tried to force back the tears that were starting to take over her beautiful face.

_I am a kind and generous person…I know that. But –sniff- I am still suffering more than I should right now…_

A single teardrop slithered from her eye and down her unnaturally pale face. It hung on her cheek for a moment, and then fell off her cheek and hit the dirt behind Erika as she began running for the medium that stood between her and her bed. A bed she will end up crying herself to sleep for the seventh night in a row.

Erika is one of the toughest people the world knows. She has been through some of the greatest turmoil a person can withstand…actually a considerable amount of turmoil a normal person _cannot_ sanely withstand…and goes through it with an unfazed expression of maturity, strength, and beauty. Only once has she knowingly bawled over a tragedy she has experienced.

She is the master of indifference.

Yet for some reason this crying is almost becoming a daily routine.

…

Her very teardrop fell onto the dirt that she hat scattered earlier. In this dirt was a tiny seed.

Together, the teardrop and seed sank down into earth.


	3. 1-02 - Wishful Thinking

**Well more and more manga is being red (pun!) and more and more information is being collected by moi. I'm at a point where frequent updates will start occurring regularly again.**

**As a general statement, I want to make it clear that if you are here as an anonymous critic, your word not only is null and void, it is also invalid and unwelcome. If you would not say it to my face under a username, then don't say it all. Not a whole lot is worse than cowardice and backstabbing.**

**However general criticisms are always welcome with open arms SO LONG AS YOU ARE APPROPRIATE ABOUT THEM. If you do not know what appropriate is in this context, you most likely do not actually know more than me. If your criticism is more subjective about the way you like it, then just be polite.**

**I work hard and long to edit these. Most errors are arrant and negligible. Most grammar malfunctions are on purpose.**

**...On a fluffier note, I am now 1000000% smitten by TranscieverShipping. Ohhh I can't wait for the manga and what it does with this...Sheesh I am just sooo giddy over this ^_^**

* * *

Chapter 2  
Wishful Thinking

*~*~**~*~**~*~*  
Erika - Celadon City  
*~*~**~*~**~*~*

Erika was in the most beautiful garden in the world. It was so natural it felt like she was actually amidst an untouched sanctuary of nature. There wasn't even a single spec or proof of human existence for miles around, nothing possible to be seen by the naked eye. It was a balmy, cool day outside with the sun beaming down on the world.

For some reason she could not identify where the place was or how she got there, but she brushed the notion aside, attributing the slight amnesia to bliss.

Mistaking the slight amnesia for bliss.

Regardless, Celadon's lady found herself in an overwhelmingly happy mood just being where she was. Her dreams were the only way she could ever find herself in such a location. Flowers bloomed without a single blemish or bite from a stray Caterpie or Spinarak. Water flowed in a nearby crystal river, flushing the world with nutrient and leaking its water onto the misty banks. Beautiful Pokemon were dancing and prancing and enjoying themselves all over this mystic utopia. Bellosom and Lilligant were dancing around the outskirts of flower gardens, Stantler families and Sawsbuck families were leaping among the bushes and taking sips from the water. Lumineon and Feebas swam franticly in the river and disappeared into the darker woods. Life was everywhere, and everywhere was life.

This was where Erika was truly happiest. This was her vision of a perfect nature. A place where she would love to spend her free time, all the time.

Or…almost perfect. There was just one person missing…

The girl with plum hair closed her equally lilaceous eyes and let herself fall backwards as if to let the slight breeze catch her. She hit the ground and let the aromas around her fill her nose with delight and grace. She peeked up at the sky and saw Jumpluff families riding the wind as clouds of beauty limbered across the sky. They seemed to be having fun, laughing with each other as they drank glasses of wine and took their precious little time, as if to say "I'm a cloud, whadya want?"

But from the corner of Erika's eye a dark haze started to creep across the sky. She peeked over to see what it was. She instantly wished she didn't.

A creepy black, red, and dark purple haze had crept into the area and was starting to flood the land. Pokemon tried to flee from it, but some did so unsuccessfully, getting caught in the creeping void and being petrified to a crude and grotesque obsidian. Everything the haze touched wilted, charred, and died instantly. Even grand trees as tall as a skyscraper instantly thinned down to a wispy willow.

Erika's eyes filled with terror as her mind raced with thoughts of despair and anguish. She quickly stumbled to her two feet, running before she was even completely up and tripping over herself because of it. She looked back at this death mist and saw that it was creeping up on her. She noticed her heart rate had risen to an incredibly fast tempo, and that she had been hyperventilating for some time.

Erika felt exhausted but she kept pushing onward.

_Weird…I know I-I-I have m-m-more stam…-hah- stamina than…than this. Why do I feel so -breath- tired?_

Not taking time to ponder that thought, she kept pushing herself onward.

As she picked her head up to see what was in front of her, she skidded to a halt.

She looked left, then right.

_No…no no no no NO!_

All around her, the black mist of death was encroaching her. She felt trapped, as beauty all around her seemed to die.

She looked down and saw one pretty dicot below her face. It was a beautiful and luscious green, and illuminated the dark world around Erika as if to fight an impossible crusade.

This touched Erika's heart.

So with tears forming in her eyes, she knelt down beside the plant and picked it out of the ground. She looked at it and turned it in her hands.

_This thing…it, it-it-it…it is trying it's h-h-h-hardest to fight the black –hah- death._

_What can –hah- I do to help it? What can, -ACKugh-, I do…_

"ERIKA!"

The archer with plum hair perked her head. She turned on her heels to locate the source of the cry.

"ERIKA HELP!"

Her eyes frantically jumped from thing to thing as she tried to locate the distressed voice's source.

"ERIKA PLEASE!"

_Where can you be?_

Her breath had returned to her somehow. The mist kept enclosing on her, but there was very little cover left untouched by the shroud, so she can't have too many places to check…

_Where?_

"ERIKA I NEED YOU!"

_Oh maybe fro…wait…that voice…_

Her eyes shot open in sheer fear and terror.

_THAT VOICE!  
_

She called back out, "Hello? Hello can you hear me?"

"ERIKA!"

Erika started jogging in one direction.

"I'm coming!"

_I KNOW that voice!_

"ERIKA I NEED HELP!" it called to her

_Please…it can't be…_

"Hold tight!"

She seemed to be getting closer.

"QUICK ERIKA!"

Erika seemed to be closing in on the voice's owner, and was getting more and more scared the closer she got to it.

Her jog transformed into a run.

"PLEASE!"

Run into a sprint.

"ERIKA!"

There was a rock ahead.

_Please don't be who I think it is…_

The black mist kept getting closer and closer. Her grip around the plant grew tighter and tighter.

The rock seemed to get abnormally larger the closer she got to it. When she finally reached it, she called out one more time:

"Hello?"

"ERIKA, QUICK BEFORE THE-"

The voice was muffled and it sounded like the owner had been muzzled and left unable to speak.

Erika pulled together her courage and rounded the corner.

Into the most frightful scene of her life.

In front of her was a shady person masked by shadows with a knife in his hand. But this part didn't scare Erika.

What scared her were the frightful eyes piercing hers. Belonging to a person whose neck the attacker's knife was pressed against. His hands and feet were locked in chains, bound to the ground.

Erika froze in her tracks and backed away. Even more painful tears started forming from the emotional trauma of the scene.

"…"

Her mouth opened but no words came out. She choked on her own fear.

The masked person raised his sword as if to signify a future strike on the muzzled person.

Words finally came to her as Erika lunged forward in a futile effort to save the victim.

"NO!"

All of a sudden a flash of blackness engulfed her midlunge as everything slowed down to a crawl. The man's sword came closer and closer to the victim, and all poor Erika could do was watch in fear. Erika's lungs stopped functioning and she started painfully trying to gasp for nothing as her eyes stayed glued to the traumatic event in front of her. As the sword was about to finish it's strike, blackness totally enveloped Erika, and she fainted into a dismal oblivion.

* * *

"NO DON'T DO IT!"

Erika thrust herself forward, screaming these words in a frantic panic, as if her life depended on it.

"…hahhh….hahhh…FFFFF…HAAAHHHHHhhhhhh…"

Erika was trying to catch her breath. She felt like she had just ran up and down Mt. Silver ten times without a break. Everything around her was a blur, and her eyes couldn't make much of anything besides the fact that, wherever she was, there was light.

"…hah…hah…"

She dabbed the back of her hand against her forehead and brought it to her eyes to try and register what was feeling awkwardly weird against her bangs.

"hah…"

…

…

_Sweat…_

…

"…hah…"

Erika looked to her left.

She looked to her right.

She rubbed her eyes to clear out whatever grogginess was overcoming them.

After blinking a couple times shapes started forming around her. It was now clear where she was.

She was sprawled out on the floor, wrapped up in a scrunched up sheet that was barely clinging for dear life to the corner of her bed, which she had journeyed a solid 5 or 6 feet away from. Her hair was ruffled up in a complete mess, and a mysterious ache had appeared in her leg.

_What could th-…ahh a bruise._

Erika picked herself up elegantly and brushed herself off, favoring her left leg just slightly. When she did this, she realized that not only her forehead, but her entire body was coated in sweat. She totted forward to her bed and felt around. It was clear her bed was drenched in perspiration.

Erika sighed and shook herself off. She tore off the remaining covers and bedspreads and traveled down to her laundry room to put them in the hamper.

* * *

A couple hours passed and Erika was now suited up in her usual attire, prepared for her daily routine. Seated at her gym's tea table, she closed her eyes and tipped some hot, citrusy drink into her mouth, sipping it silently. She brought the cup down, still pursed against her lips, and took a breath of tranquility.

She laid the cup down and reached down to her PokeNav…her new one, by the way, she never did get her old one back from Ash…and clicked it open. The girl with plum eyes navigated her way to the "Messages" screen, setting filter to "challengers." Here is where she found what new brave soul was daring enough to confront her in a Pokemon Battle.

The last time Erika lost was a month and a half ago. Her opponent was a quirky yet intelligent businessman – he's also beaten everyone except Janine and Blue – who found a way to edge around her. Other than that, she has an unblemished record since the incident in Johto. After that, and the new rule stating all trainers bearing 8 badges from a given region can participate in the respective league tourney without facing preliminary rounds, ALL gym leaders received an absurd influx of trainers after that, and most started proving why they were considered gym leaders.

She, Blaine, and Blue all had only suffered one loss in light of those events. Truly though, the gym leader with the most losses was Janine, and she only had 4. Kanto was a tough region to nab the badges from. Today, Erika didn't plan for it to be any different.

Well, something different did happen.

Erika required everyone to present him or herself over a message before she accepts their challenge. She had actually officially instated her "challenge system," what had originally simply been a test to see if Red was trustworthy of the Gym Leaders of Justice's plans to overthrow Team Rocket. These days, the challenges were less difficult to compensate the difficulty curve between Red and most other people.

Plus, if one gives a challenge like catching something rare like a Porygon to 40+ people, disastrous riots were just bound to happen surrounding one unlucky, sad Porygon.

So Erika had a self-employed challenge system—you make your own challenge, own rules. If Erika deems it a worthy indication of valor and character, she would accept the challenge. It was not necessarily whoever had the hardest challenge, or the most accomplished one, it was whoever gave the most sincere, honest effort. More than anything, Erika wanted to see self-integrity.

Self-integrity is a form of indifference that Erika oh-so-incredibly loves. It strikes down the power of a humble advocate in shining cloth armor.

One time Erika even accepted a challenger who said his challenge was confronting her. He came to her in person with scared eyes and wobbly knees, but he came with a courageous fire that showed the power of self-integrity and bravery.

He lost in a 3-on-3 battle, 2-0. It was her closest match of the week.

Typically Erika accepts 2-3 challengers a day.

"Hmmm what do have we today..." she mused out loud.

A gentleman who had claimed he went and helped nurse a sick Growlithe pup back to health had curtsied her yesterday morning, and asked for a challenge today. He explained he needed to go check on the pup one last time that afternoon to make sure the validity of his own comment was correct. Erika gladly accepted, and after some thought decided to face him first thing in the morning.

However she still needed to find another challenger today to make sure she didn't leave anyone out or dent anyone's legitimate want to battle her.

The PokeNav buzzed and whispered like a muffled dryer as it searched for the inquiry she punched in. The first link was from…

_URGENT MESSAGE TO ALL GYM LEADERS._

"…huh…"

She curiously pecked the message with her finger and read the given text:

_ATTENTION TO ERIKA…_

_The Pokemon Association has made an executive decision to assemble all gym leaders in a coordinated meeting this coming Saturday to discuss pressing issues, including, but not limited to, interregional harmonization and the recent influx of organized crime._

_Those who chose not to attend will have their gym leader status revoked and will be stripped of all honorary Pokemon Association titles. Permission to bypass other activities is permitted granted the security protocol level Rindo._

_Heading the meeting shall be the Chairman of the Kanto Pokemon Association._

_The meeting will take place this Saturday at dawn, starting at 1:00 and proceeding to an indeterminate time. Location will be just outside of Viridian City at the chairman's mansion, whose location should be known to everyone in the meeting._

_All Pokedex holders will drop their current duty and help discuss all issues._

_You, Erika, as currently positioned captain of the Kanto Gym Leaders, are to lead the preliminary meeting for Kanto. More information on this will be provided at outset of location._

_First, we are issuing a required vacation, effective tomorrow until after the meeting, unless decided otherwise during the discussions._

_Second, all gym challenges from tomorrow on shall be denied under all circumstances except the Red Case._

_Third, a friendly Pokemon tourney is being held from tomorrow until Friday at Indigo Plateau involving all Pokedex holders plus other honorary guests. We encourage, but by no means require, attendance._

_Good Day,_

_The Pokemon Association_

…

_Executive order?_ Erika pondered, _I haven't heard one of those since the Hoenn incident a few years back._

…

_Well regardless, I have orders to fulfill._

So Erika snapped shut her PokeNav and curtly laid it out on the table. She took a breath and then sipped some more tea…

* * *

**Erika I love more and more as I work with her. My head is starting to come together with my idea for this story. I already knew the basic plot, but the specifics are starting to come to me.**

**Next chapter is focused on someone a bit different...perhaps in a different time...**

**R&R**


	4. 1-03 - Airtight

**This is the longest chapter I have ever written. Officially 5,384 words. Officially.**

**I shall present a nice shiny advertisement on my popular story for this. Maybe make my work fruitful.**

**On another note, I am a bit sorry for how...well general this is compared to my normal writing. And that's considering how chock full of info and building action this is. I ****appreciate your bearing with me. It is entertaining, but not to the extentI could. I just have a very specific reason for my negligence.**

**In the meantime, I hate school. College come to me soon so I can stop updating monthly -.-**

**Oh, and guest reviewer, I literally have no idea what you were trying to say. Sowwee. Just alliterate it in proper English if you can.**

* * *

Chapter 3  
Airtight

*~*~**~*~**~*~*  
Gold – Oak's Personal  
Airship; en route  
to Pallet Town  
*~*~**~*~**~*~*

It can be funny how comfortable a tight, compact airship can be when you've been tirelessly walking around without much of a break for a solid month.

All in all, Gold was just happy to be done with yet another blasted world-threatening attack. He was starting to grow sick and tired of all the Tauros it produced, spat, and smeared on his life.

Yes, he enjoyed spending time with Pokemon and his friends. And, ya know, the extra bragging rights to impress the ladies was most _certainly _always a plus.

But he was sick and tired of it.

Gold sighed and took a moment to scan the room. Green and Silver were sitting in a booth next to a window, seeming to have a great time talking with Green's Parents, tackling the impossible mission of catching up on 16 missed years of parent-child time. Ruby took a moment to smile at seeing the reuniting process, and then continued his extremely one-sided conversation/soliloquy about how awesome his Pokemon were. Yellow seemed pleased just to listen, being the polite and kindly amused girl she is. Red and Sapphire were yelling – well, loudly conversing – about the thrill of their Pokemon battles. Emerald was fiddling with his gadgets, jumping in on conversations every now and again, with Blue right behind him, observing Emerald's tinkerings while spreading a piece of his infinite wisdom on Pokemon Training and fuming about how loud Green and Red were talking. Chris was…

Well Chris was doing her RIF on the PokeGear. Calling the Pokemon House, calling her mom, calling Prof. Elm, doing her rounds so to say. Gold ached to talk to her, but figured it would be some time before she was done.

So he smiled, leaned back against the wall, slunk down, and closed his eyes to rest them for _jusssst_ a moment…

"Gollll-olllllld…"

"…"

"Gollllllllllll-ooooooollllllllllllddddd."

"…"

"Gold, seriously now…"

"…"

"_**GOLD!**__"_

Gold jolted awake, scrambling all over the place trying to a) configure his balance, b) establish where he was, and c) decipher whom/what was calling him. All at the same time.

Plans like that usually fail.

"Owowowow…" he moaned, rubbing his forehead where he had slipped and fallen on.

Chris facepalmed and then sighed.

"Gold, Oak wants to see all the Pokedex holders together in the Captain's Room for an important meeting."

Gold humphed, "Well, you didn't have to be so loud…you know you could have just lightly tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to wake up and I would have."

Chris just sweatdropped and reached her hand out. Gold shrugged and accepted the offer, lifting to his feet and walking with Chris to the back room.

"Do you know what it's about?" he asked.

Crystal shook her head. "Absolutely no idea. He just now called us all there."

Gold folded his arms and scowled. "So Old Man Oak interrupted my beauty sleep without even letting me know why? This better be good…"

Chris giggled and opened the door the inner chamber. Inside everyone was already seated around a quaint, mid-sized coffee table. They were all hushed, sitting politely at the table in their own unique way (Yellow leaning back with her palms out behind her for balance; Green lazily, and quite frankly a bit coquettishly in the naturally flirty way Green is, supine). Green's parents were not present, so Gold assumed they were still in the main cabin.

Professor Oak was positioned at the head of the table, his arms folded and his head slightly bowed, eyes crossed in thought. When Gold closed the door behind him, he walked forward to an empty spot between Green and Ruby. As he sat down, he twirled his cue around and placed it in his lap.

Green leaned over and whispered to him, "That was smooth, late boy."

Gold snickered and whispered back, "That's exactly how Gold does it."

Oak cleared his throat to signal the beginning of the meeting. After waiting to make sure he had everyone's attention, he commenced it.

"Hello everyone. I am incredibly grateful to say that the Pokedex holders have once again saved the world from destruction and chaos. So let me start by saying 'Thank You' to all of you."

Everyone smiled back at him. Green flipped her hair to the back of her head in a sign of haughty pride. Although, Blue was stoic as per-usual.

"Also, let us congratulate Green on finally being able to actually meet her parents. It's been a long time coming, and way overdue."

Now everyone gleamed at Green as she smiled and held her chin up high. Ruby patted her on the back while Gold playfully poked her with his cue.

Oak continued, "But I'm sure you all know of the fact that I am standing here with you all around me means that there is something a lot more pressing I must address. This is surrounding the large upscale of incidents you all, as Pokedex holders, have had to deal with."

Red frowned and held his wrist.

Oak acknowledged this, "Most especially Red and the insurmountable amount of turmoil he has had to go through."

Not happy with the direction the attention was going, Gold stamped his cue on the ground, "Hey what about ME Professor?!"

Oak shook his head and sighed. "Yes, you too Gold, you and the extremely painful difficulty that you have had to deal with as well."

Gold puffed his chest out and smiled smugly, content with this obscenely fake flattery.

"Continuing on, in light of the most recent incident in the Battle Frontier, I have come to the conclusion that a great deal of our turmoil is due to our separation. Now you all handled the situation maturely, and I must say, and yes I actually mean this, that I am incredibly proud of Gold and the way he led the operation."

Gold, caught a little by surprise by the sudden and real compliment, was stunned for a moment. Then, of course, he went back to his gloating posture.

"But of course, what else would you expect from Johto's most valuable Pokedex holder?"

Silver coughed a couple times and Crystal shot him her super-serious Crystal look.

Oak once again cleared his throat to regain the attention of everyone gathered.

"But to what I was saying, I believe if we were closer together and more able to respond to calls of distress, then these…issues would go a lot smother."

Yellow and Sapphire nodded in agreement. Emerald raised his hand and asked, "So what are we planning to do?"

Oak nodded, "Good question Emerald. My proposition of today is that we all, from now on, must stay in close, and I mean VERY close, proximity to each other."

This caused a little murmuring to spread across the table. Gold looked back and forth from person to person, hearing what people were saying. He sighed, knowing no one else would ask the question, and bit the unintentional bullet.

"But Oak, what about those of us with families that are far away from Kanto?"

Ruby shot him a thankful look while Sapphire raised her voice, "Yeah, Ruby and I live in Littleroot, which is very far away from Kanto."

Oak acknowledged their concerns, "I understand your concerns. I especially understand yours, Ruby, because you want to spend as much time with your family as possible. But unfortunately, even in light of that, I will have to clarify exactly the context of this proposition. When we land, we will arrive in Pallet Town, behind my lab. But unfortunately, until we find a better solution, we must, secretly mind you, live together there. We will still be able to contact your families (technology is awesome), but we must stick close together."

Ruby, worried, leaned back to ponder this while Silver and Green looked at each other.

Blue raised his head and asked, "But gramps, you're not one to make everyone leave their hometowns over a simple ambiguous _threat_, am I correct?"

Oak nodded. "That leads into my next point, in exactly one year there will be a meeting amongst the ENTIRE Pokemon Association and all its regions. You are all cordially invited (and by that I mean strongly required) to attend."

Sapphire's eyes looked fearful and angry. She spoke again,

"Forgive me, but I just don't see why we need to live so close together for this…"

Oak returned a look of slight pity.

"Valid concern, Sapphire. As I said, it is good to be prepared and near each other for these situations. But most importantly I need you all to train together, to get to know each other. You all are so closely related by your tools and missions, but you barely know each other. It would be vital for you all to become very close friends and allies with each other in order to establish an intimidating force to try and shun all the ambitious organizations that are getting any sort of…ideas in the future. Also, in order for the upcoming meeting to go smoothly, you all must be strong and well versed with each other. You all can be our main link, connecting the nations together."

Green (unphased as per usual, but it would be reasonable to say that she had legitimate concern for her peers) smiled and asked, "Is that all Professor? I know you have something more up your sleeve."

Oak smiled back.

"You're right Green, you always were the most intuitive Kanto Pokedex holder."

He made a not-so-discreet glance at Red and Blue. Red forced a nervous laugh and scratched his head while Blue just sighed and looked away.

Oak continued, "You all are not the only Pokedex holders. We have made 3 new additions to your title."

…

A silence echoed in the room, as the atmosphere was tinted with surprise and marinated with surprise.

"I have heard from my friend and coworker, the man who helped create the Pokedex, Professor Rowan, that there are three more Pokedex holders who have just taken down a world-threat themselves. They live in a region known as Sinnoh. It is even farther from Kanto than Hoenn is."

While everyone was still shocked, Gold wanted to learn more about these people.

"When will we get to see them?"

Oak sighed, "I'm afraid not for a while. They are busy right now putting some missing pieces together in a venture into the Distortion World."

A look of confusion and shock painted most people in the room. Most, except Blue. Of course Blue was stoic. Klink you and your over stoicness Blue.

"I think I've heard of that before. Is that not where Giratina lives?"

Oak nodded, "You are correct. We will meet with them soon after they complete their quest. It will be a while, but we should be able to meet with them after they complete it. We will need to discuss with them about the meeting as well, as Sinnoh joined the Pokemon Association not too long ago."

"I must also admit, no one else knows about this meeting. Not even the Elite Four groups, much less the Gym Leaders. So I ask that you not even make a peep about this to anyone. We can't be putting a deadline for bad guys everywhere out there, saying "HEY THIS IS WHEN ALL THE IMPORTANT PEOPLES ARE GATHERED! COME MURDER US ALL RIGHT NOW!"

Everyone nodded, but nodded slowly. Emerald was fiddling with his techy shoes. Ruby and Sapphire exchanged a nervous and shifty glance. Blue was stoic (still irked about that Blue). Green's smile had lowered a little when she saw everyone's attitude about the situation. Silver, Red, and Yellow seemed not to mind too much though, so that's a minor plus.

But the uncertainty was definitely more than present.

Oak's face dropped and seemed a little gloomy when he made his final comment.

"I understand this may be too much for many of you. Should any of you not agree to this, you may turn in your Pokedex and drop out of this madness and chaos. No one will blame you, no one will dishonor you. We all understand the pressure and intense craziness wielding this device does for you. So please, if anyone does not want to follow through, please let me know now, so I may start the search for your replacement."

…

"Oh, I will be taking a vote on this as soon as we land and after we have dinner. I must treat you all with the respect and dignity you deserve."

…

…

…

No one moved. Yet.

Gold looked back and forth and saw uncertainty and worry on everyone's face. But most of everyone was Ruby. He just wanted to be with his family, Gold knew that.

_Will he drop out? We can't afford to lose anyone…Especially not now._

Ruby started to shift to his pocket, with a look of anguish and shame and…

Oh.

_Oh no._

He was going to do it.

_Anytime now, he's going to stand, and say—_

"I wish to speak."

A serene and graceful voice resonated from Yellow as the pretty and small girl stood up.

Everyone gasped.

She took a deep breath and withdrew her Pokedex.

…

A pause.

A fear.

_NO, not her!_

Then,

"I understand why any of you would want to leave this," she pointed to her old machine, "behind. I understand why any of you would want to just continue your lives as ordinary kids. Live the lives as the strong trainers I can tell you all are. Conquer gyms, dominate the contests, train the most powerful Pokemon you can…I too am guilty of wishing to spend my whole life protecting Viridian, and learning the thoughts and hearts of the Pokemon."

She closed her eyes, took of her hat and took a deep breath. "But I also understood the responsibility I accepted when I took this," now she jabbed a finger up against the Pokedex, "with me to complete a journey to find Red. I understood what I was giving up to the world when I accepted this. But most importantly…"

Yellow raised her head and opened her eyes, looking right at Ruby. "I understood that by accepting this device I was giving up my life as an ordinary kid. I'm never going back to normal now. And I have learned to not only accept this, but to embrace it."

She bowed to Professor Oak. "Thank you for your attention."

Then she sat down.

Gold noticed everyone taking out their Pokedex, so he did the same. He pulled his out and looked at it's crisp metal. He opened it and ran a finger across it, feeling the cool inside of the glorious invention. He smiled and closed it, stuffing it in his pocket.

He was going to stay right with his responsibility. Even if he was sick and tired of the Tauros it created.

_The ladies part more than makes up for it_.

He snickered and leaned back, ready for the world.

Gold was currently looking across the room, discreetly and unidentifiably, at Yellow and Red. It was almost hilarious. They spoke so softly and normally but it was clear to Gold that there was still some proverbial flint n' steel trying to spark something between them. He remembered it back from the years ago back when Misty called him and started swooning over the realization that he was alive –

_Way melodramatic by the way ladies, don't ever do that to ME…_

– and then Green crassly and coquettishly started a blushing festival. Like seriously. Gold could hear the blush from Misty coming through the PokeGear.

"_Hee-hehehehe."_

He noticed the snickering behind him. Turning to face the giddy perpetrator, he came face-to-face with Ms. Maturity herself.

He smirked. "You noticing it too, Green?"

She turned her attention to him and held her smile. "Of course, dear. Watch this…"

Gold's eyes widened. _Oh no, here we go._

Cupping both hands to her face to work as a makeshift megaphone…

_You don't need a makeshift, crappy megaphone Green, your voice can be_

_loud enough to wake a Slakoth._

… Green shouted out, "HEY YELLOW! RED! WE CAN ALL SEE THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM SO JUST GO TO THE BACKROOM AND GET IT OVER WITH!"

Gold slapped his face. Hard.

_Ow…ya know I really gotta think these self-inflicting gestures of pain through. Next time, I will be in control of my body and not let it do that._

While now nursing the new red welp on his temple, he turned to the devilishly happy Green.

"Girl, you gotta straighten that act together. You're gonna make the next evil organization die due to insanity from you and your innuendo."

Green shrugged, "Hey, if it's what I gotta do, it's what I gotta do."

They both laughed.

…

"… Hey Gold?"

"Hmmm?"

"I was wondering…you seem to be pretty adept at spotting this whole feelings thing…"

"What makes you say that?"

Gold noticed Green's typically cute smile had faded when she asked the question, and failed to return once he had engaged her in a meaningful conversation. Odd. He laughed to try and lighten things up and bring that smile back, but failed.

Green responded, "Well based on the fact that among everyone, you noticed the whole Yellow and Red thing 2 years back when I thought I was the only one who had. At age 11!"

Gold sighed, "You got me. Arrest me for high treason right now."

…

Green didn't laugh.

_She never doesn't laugh._

"Gold, I just wanted to ask you something serious…I –"

"No, Green, I am flattered but I will not marry you. I need to live a little longer before I can accept that proposition."

A chuckle.

_Damn I'm good at this. No Green friend of mine is gunna get away with gloomish depression_. Gold smiled at his personal little victory.

"Gold, who do you think is right for me."

…

_Woah._

…

…_Okay, super serious Gold time._

Gold straightened his face to the glowing, leadership-like face it becomes when he focuses on a serious issue. He radiated a powerful aura of compassion and sincerity on a level never seen in his normal life.

"Green, you're a beautiful, talented, strong 17-year-old girl. You got your whole life ahead of you. Now I know what you were inferring in your question…" Gold drifted his gaze and gave a curt gesture towards Silver. "…but matter of fact is that you needn't worry about these things. Aren't you the flirty Green, who can capture the temporary heart of just about anyone?"

"Yes, but I only really do that to gain an advantage over an enemy…"

A crease crept onto Gold's lips as he recalled the stories of how she would use her attractiveness and bubbly charm to infatuate someone, and how often she used it on Red when they were younger.

But that crease disappeared as quickly as it at showed up.

"I understand that, but why do you think it works?"

"It's just because—"

Gold cut her off by jabbing his cue right in front of her. He drove his eyes right through hers.

"Green, you and Silver have chemistry, yes. But you also have a bondage that transcends love in a friendly, sibling way. If you pushed for things too hard, too soon before any real connection became clear, things would be awkward and you would lose a bit of that lustrous connection you two have."

Gold lowered his cue and took a breath.

"Equanimity. It implies a willingness to endure with complete levelheadedness anything life throws at you. Remember this whenever you think of love, Green. Equanimity."

Green was contemplative, lost in thought over Gold's words of wisdom (Yes, I said that right. Hey, Gold has his moments in the spotlight too every now and again). Yet, there was something else she was clearly thinking of. Gold couldn't quite place his finger on what exactly, or how he knew that, but…

…

_Ah, that's it._

He nodded to Green and asked, "Now, I see you have something to ask me. What is it?"

Green scrunched her face, squinted her eyebrows, and puckered her lips. She hesitated, as if curiously wanting to respond, and finally deciding to follow through with her orders from Master Gold.

"Gold…" she softly yet assuredly murmured, "…what about you?"

Gold was taken by surprise. "What…about me?"

She looked up and cast her gorgeous eyes at him. "Gold you surround yourself with love daily. You're known as the breeder of this group for Arceus' sake. You work in a Day Care, surround yourself with Pokemon back home, pair up all us Pokedex owners' Pokemon, and most of all, you can identify _human_ love without missing a beat. So what about you and your own feelings?"

Gold panicked a little. He had never before been directly pursued by a question of this sort. No one could take him seriously enough in these love talks without convincing him to do something silly to sneakily change the subject.

After settling down, he tried to sidestep it while answering it at the same time.

_I know that I can't change subjects on Green, but maybe if I have a convoluted answer that redirects the attention and quasi-answers it at the same time, then maybe I can avoid this…_

"Well…it's fine and all. I'm just a kid-"

"Don't beg the question hun. Answer it."

Gold sweatdropped.

_Well there goes that idea._

"Alright…what exactly do you want to know?"

Green stroked her hair as she gave her answer. "What about you? I mean we're going to need to grow even closer as friends with what we just agreed to in there…" she pointed to Oak's back room, "…so since we both are pretty intelligent about this thing, I outta help you out as much as you help me, and that'll give us some common ground to become closer off of."

Gold laughed. "Yeah I suppose you're right…"

He thought for a moment to give a serious answer.

"Well…to start I guess it would only be honest to say I'm probably the most lost person here. I don't really know who is exactly the one I like, and it makes it difficult, really difficult."

He trailed off a little and pondered a little more.

"I have, at the very least, 3+ girls on my radar, all of whom are very sweet and kind, not too mention heart-wrenchingly attractive. And that's if I only include those I meet on at least somewhat consistent a basis."

Green was a bit stunned by this, but it only showed in her confusion.

"Wait, so you don't know who you like? Not even..." Green grinned

Gold got a bit fidgety. _Oh please don't scream her name! For the love of all things—_

"Not even _her?_" Green whispered the last part. For that much, Gold was thankful.

"Green, it says a lot about you that I get scared you're gonna do the completely immature thing in the situation we were in."

The perpetrator just giggled.

"But seriously, you don't know who you like?"

Gold sighed.

"It's more than just that Green. It's not a matter of indecision, but rather a matter of having too much on my platter. I just can't pick one person, and leave the rest out. It would feel wrong of me. I normally live by a sort of 'play-it-by-year' philosophy, let things settle out. With that, at least only the hardy one who truly has feelings for me will stick around."

Gold dropped his head, "But the more time I let things sit, the closer all of them become to me, the harder it is for me to make a choice, and the more I just let things go. The more I let things go, the more I just let them sit. It's cyclic and annoying. To slap on to that, I have this inner knowledge that _ALL_ of them will stick through to the end with me."

Then Green gave a very surprisingly honest compliment.

"Gold," she muttered, "you are an incredible young man and any girl who you like who doesn't reciprocate is dam fool and I outta slap the Bibarel out of them."

Gold looked up, shocked.

"Well, I suppose…"

…

"Ironic huh? The leading Pokedex Holder male in the concepts of love can't get his own attraction life settled out."

Green nodded in his direction and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, we got quite a little assignment on our hands now, don't we."

Gold looked up and got swallowed up by those blasted jaw-dropping eyes. She had the kind and generous soul enough to wink at him, reducing the effects by half.

Still too much.

Gold sneered, "You could swoon a Hypno with those eyes, ya know that? Quit looking at me."

Green laughed and turned her head. "Better?"

"Almost..." Gold pushed her over the couch right in front of them to where he couldn't see her.

"Alright, that's about perfect."

_"MMMMFFFF!"_

"…I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

Green lifted her head and screamed, "BUT YOU COULDN'T HEAR THAT!"

"EXACTLY!" Gold chortled.

With that Gold dashed away before Green could give chase.

Some time after this, but not too long after it, Professor Oak came by and tapped Gold on the shoulder.

"Gold! I need to talk to you!"

_Now what could old man Oak want with me now?_

He shrugged and turned to face the professor.

"What is it?" he asked.

Oak responded, "I need to speak with you and Blue, I already have him over there,—" he pointed to the characteristically stoic Blue, leaning up against a wall flipping a PokeBall in the air.

_That guy is so cool he makes me mad…_

"—about a couple things…regarding our soon-to-be friends in Sinnoh."

Gold nodded and twirled his cue around. "Well, show me the way."

After some time Gold, Blue, and Oak were all situated in the same room the earlier conference was held. They were all enjoying a beverage to quench their thirst before the brief little meeting commenced.

Professor Oak set down his cup of Chilee and wiped his mouth with a napkin. After which, he looked at both Blue and Gold and addressed them by name to signal the beginning of the meeting.

"Blue…Gold…"

Both stopped their ravenous engrossment of their delicious MooMoo Milk and looked up to the professor.

Okay, so Gold was the only one demolishing his drink. He was more than covering enough ground for both of them.

Regardless, once Oak knew he had the, at least faked, undivided attention of both persons, he began.

"Well you two know I want to talk to you about the deal with our friends in Sinnoh recently… so let me start by giving you these…"

He handed them both mini cards that had three boxes. In each box was a picture, proceeded by a name.

"Diamond…Pearl…Platina…" Blue mused aloud.

Professor nodded. "Those are the three designated persons in Sinnoh whom have been entrusted with the Pokedex by my partner Professor Rowan…aka the 3 Sinnoh Pokedex Holders."

"Professor, I apologize for my impatience, but how does this concern us exactly?"

Oak laughed.

"You haven't changed much at all, have you Gold?"

He cleared his throat and composed himself.

"Truth be told, they need a little assistance from our side. First order of business involves you, Blue…" he looked over at his grandson, "…you need to contact your sister Daisy and get her out to Sinnoh immediately. They need medical assistance, and they need the top dog in the industry. They had a little clash with an organization known as Team Galactic… I'll fill you in on that later… and the Gym Leaders need help rapidly and urgently. No doctor, not a single one, other than my granddaughter and former assistant will have the capabilities to treat them. Also, the Sinnoh Pokedex Holders have to travel into the Distortion World as quickly as they can, long story short, and need assistance immediately. There are some Pokemon which need vital treatment. Again, as quickly as possible."

Blue nodded.

Oak continued, "And to be honest, your sister would probably only break of her upcoming vacation with Bill if you asked her too. I really really really did NOT want to do this to her and Bill…but they can have their vacation delayed a couple weeks if necessary. Plus it is pretty convenient that Bill has direct contact with Bebe and will be able to set up a meeting between the two. With their combined abilities and smarts, they will get the job done, no question."

Blue seemed to understand this and smiled. "I'll take care of it gramps."

"Now then," the Professor continued, a smirk plastered on his face, "how about you go out there and have some fun with everyone else."

Gold chipped in, "Yeah, make a social life for once."

Blue looked up to glare at Gold, but then saw the look of humor he had come to know so well. He sighed and nodded, accepting defeat.

"Touché."

With that he picked himself up. He shook the hand of the professor and said his goodbyes to Gold.

Gold called after him, "See you later Blue!"

"Now Gold…"

Gold turned his head back to Oak.

"Gold, you must be wondering why I called you in here."

_Darn right I am!  
_

"Yes, sir."

Oak laughed and waved his hand in front of him. "Well Gold has changed hasn't he? There is no need to be so polite…"

"Oh, so I _can_ call you Old Man Oak?"

The Professor flinched.

"Let's not get carried away."

Gold shrugged and leaned back, disappointed. The Professor returned to the serious topic of discussion.

"I do wish to pick your brain for some advice Gold…"

Gold raised his right eyebrow.

"Oh really, trust me it's not that tasty."

Even Oak had a chuckle at that one.

"I have gotten some rapid influx of calls to duty from Sinnoh recently, including a heart-wrenching letter, a memo decoding request, and a location search plee of something elusive and un-mappable. Because of this, I am a bit stressed and do not have the proper mindset and wherewithal to accomplish these dubious acts. So I have one question for you, being that you have experienced ancient ruins firsthand…"

He waited for a silence to enter the room so as to emphasize the question.

"If you had to answer a letter that talks about a sweeping sense of sadness caused by human grief dealt upon the world due to the troubles of Team Rocket, Aqua, Magma, and the such, how would you respond to it?"

…_ummmmm_

…

"I, suppooooose…"

…

"I suppose I would talk about gratitude. Yeah that's it, gratitude."

"Gratitude, you say?"

Gold nodded. "Yes, gratitude."

Oak smiled and nodded, sending the message of "thank you" via gesture.

But as Gold was leaving, Oak caught him mid-knob-opening with an interjection of words.

"Regardless, I do have to say to you about one thing not having to do with Sinnoh. Regarding your ownership of the Pokedex."

That caught his attention.

"Gold, I want to tell you I actually meant how proud I have become of you. You have blossomed into a fine young man with a cool and leading head. Yeah, you go all…well Gold on us frequently, but that's just who you are I suppose. During the fight with Guile Hideout, you instructed the Hoenn Pokedex Holders perfectly and led the charge with such unperturbed grace that I could only listen in awe while Chris told me everything."

…

"I know that's a lot to take in Gold, but know that I can think back to my decision to give the pestering young boy a Pokedex, and say to myself that it was a fabulous idea. One of my best yet."

And with that Oak nodded and saw him out the door.

Gold was too stunned to notice what was happening around him. All he picked up from when Oak ushered him out was the same professor mumbling something to himself about something called shayin…

* * *

**Huh. Well then. R&R please :) 3**


End file.
